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AUSTIN, Texas Signs of a fractured Republican Party in Texas have Democrats hoping to seize an opportunity to gain some ground.

They say Hillary Clinton won 10 Texas districts in 2016 that Republicans currently hold. Progressive Texas groups, which call their collective One Texas Resistance, told state leaders Wednesday to "respect us or expect us."

"We will not allow them to harm our communities, our kids, or rob us of our rights and our basic humanity," said Emmitt Shelling of the Transgender Education Network of Texas.

They called Gov. Greg Abbott's conservative special session agenda "distracting and destructive." They're fighting against the so-called sanctuary cities law lawmakers passed this session and that's facing a court challenge.

Leaders also said they plan to challenge several abortion restrictions passed this summer.

"We know that these laws do absolutely nothing to protect our lives," said Amanda Williams of the Lilith Fund.

Rep. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, said Hillary Clinton won at least 42 percent of the vote last November in 20 districts that Republicans control.

"In 10 of those districts, Hillary Clinton won," he said. "Our message today to Republicans is that if you're not representing the values of hardworking Texans, we are coming after you."

State Republican Party Chair James Dickey says he's not at all worried.

"Republicans in Texas are happy with the progress that we've made just in the last few weeks and want to see more progress."

Dickey said the Legislature accomplished half of the ten priorities Republicans laid out last year. There's one priority, however, that seems to keep dividing House and Senate lawmakers: property taxes.

"We didn't see major progress on that," he said.

The stalemate led to flurry of GOP in-fighting that One Texas Resistance hopes to seize.

Lawmakers could be forced to come back to redraw congressional maps. A federal court called out two districts Tuesday for being discriminatory. That includes Lloyd Doggett's district, which spans from Austin to San Antonio.

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Texas Democrats to Republicans: Respect us or expect us - Spectrum News

President Donald Trump addresses the 2016 American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C. Following the president's remarks on violence in Charlottesville, AIPAC urged officials to "reject moral equivalence." | Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Jewish Republicans rejected Donald Trumps comments in response to violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, but it doesnt appear the president is facing further consequences from the small but vital GOP constituency over what they saw as a failure to adequately denounce crowds that shouted anti-Semitic chants and hoisted Nazi flags last weekend.

The Republican Jewish Coalition in a statement called for Trump to show greater leadership after he seemed Tuesday to equate neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan demonstrators with those protesting them. Matt Brooks, executive director of the RJC, would not say whether members plan any further steps to warn the president.

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"People are scared and frightened and disgusted by the events of Charlottesville," Brooks told POLITICO on Thursday. "It's incredible in this time and place in our American history that we're dealing with the scourge of vile neo-Nazis and white supremacists. It's just intolerable."

Brooks also would not disclose any conversations with Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, who sits on the RJC's board but has not personally weighed in.

Still, some Republican strategists are nervous about turning off a group that regularly votes, raises money and donates to candidates. Trumps daughter Ivanka and her family are Jewish, as are several of the presidents top aides. But his statement that there were very fine people amid those protesting the planned removal of a Confederate statue who chanted, among other things, Jews will not replace us shocked supporters and critics alike.

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"Getting this right is life and death for the Republican Party. You can't have a Republican Party that people believe is a racist party," said Rick Tyler, a Trump critic and former communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz, who aggressively courted Republican Jews in his own 2016 presidential bid. "The Republican Jewish community provides a lot of support for the Republican Party, particularly financial support."

The RJC which asked Trump to provide greater moral clarity in rejecting racism, bigotry, and antisemitism was more direct than the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which issued a statement Thursday urging all elected officials to reject moral equivalence between those who promote hate and those who oppose it.

But AIPACs statement was nonetheless a striking rebuke given the groups past praise of Trumps hawkish stance on Israel and as-yet-unfulfilled vow to move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Tennessee Rep. David Kustoff, one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, called on "White Supremacists, the KKK, neo-Nazis and all groups that preach hate" to be "explicitly condemned." The other, Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, followed Trump in placing blame on both sides for violence that culminated in the death of a woman after a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters.

But Zeldin added: "These two sides are not equal. They are different."

Nonpartisan Jewish groups, like the Anti-Defamation League, have been more direct in criticizing Trump's rhetoric.

It's not the first time Trump has angered the American Jewish community. Many were baffled and offended when his White House put out a statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day that made no mention of the Jews who were killed.

Fred Zeidman, a member of the RJC board of directors and a former George W. Bush appointee to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, praised his group's leadership for taking a stand after the Charlottesville violence.

"We know the issues that evolve from remaining silent, and we can't remain silent," he told POLITICO on Thursday. "We know what happens when we remain silent."

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Jewish Republicans reject Trump's take on Charlottesville violence - Politico

Republican lawmakers this weekend took President Donald Trump to task over what they deemed a weak response to white supremacist groups and violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, the latest sign that Trumps grip on the party may be weakening.

The outspoken group included past Trump antagonists such as Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida, but it also included prominent conservative voices who aren't known as fierce critics of the administration, such as Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Cory Gardner of Colorado.

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The Republicans joined civil rights leaders and Democrats who reacted angrily when Trump said Saturday he condemned "this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides on many sides. His repetition of many sides struck critics as seeming to equate the white supremacist groups who organized the rally with counterprotesters, though the White House later sought to recast his statement to be more critical of hate groups.

One woman was killed and more injured Saturday when a car plowed into a group of counterprotesters. Police later charged a man who had been photographed holding a symbol of one of the groups that organized the Charlottesville event, The Associated Press reported.

This isn't a time for innuendo or to allow room to be read between the lines. This is a time to lay blame, Gardner, who is considered a rising star in the party, said on CNN on unday.

This president has done an incredible job of naming terrorism around the globe as evil, Gardner continued. He has said and called it out time and time again. And this president needs to do exactly that today.

"We should call evil by its name," Hatch wrote on Twitter Saturday.

The rift over Trump's response to the Charlottesville violence was just the latest example of members of his party starting to carefully take on a president whose words and actions many chose to overlook after his surprise 2016 victory. Those schisms including criticism of his treatment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his recent public berating of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could make it harder for the White House to work with its counterparts on a slew of policy priorities this fall.

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The critical tweets and television interviews do not mean Republicans are turning on the president just yet. And Republicans have criticized Trump before. After the release of the Access Hollywood video in which Trump boasted about grabbing womens genitals without their consent, many lawmakers said they could no longer support him; Gardner said he would not vote for him. Still, Republicans worked with Trump anyway after he took the White House.

The Republican politicians still fear the Trump base in their own districts and states, said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. When he goes down to where Nixon and Truman were, in the mid- to low 20s in the polls, then they will start waving bye-bye to him.

But the reactions to Trumps recent actions have evolved from earlier in the administration. For example, after Trump in May fired FBI Director James Comey, who was leading an investigation into Russias role in the 2016 election, Republicans on Capitol Hill tried to avoid reporters' questions rather go on the record criticizing his decision.

By midday Sunday, the White House released a statement that attempted to clarify the presidents earlier remarks on Charlottesville, though the president himself has not spoken again.

"The President said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred. Of course that includes white supremacists, KKK Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together, an unnamed White House spokesman said in a statement.

The president condemned the violence and didn't dignify the names of these groups of people, but rather addressed the fundamental issue," White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert told CNN.

That was after waves of criticism, including from Trumps 2016 campaign rivals such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who urged the Department of Justice to investigate the events in Charlottesville, which it promised to do late Saturday evening. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who ran for president in 2016 and whose daughter works in the West Wing, and 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney also denounced racial prejudice.

Fissures between Republicans and Trump have been showing up with greater regularity, as the president faces a low approval rating and no major legislative accomplishments.

GOP lawmakers chafed when Trump publicly admonished Sessions for recusing himself from the Justice Departments investigation into Russias role in the 2016 campaign. Sessions said it was necessary given his role in Trumps presidential campaign, but Trump said he would have picked a different attorney general if hed known the recusal was coming.

Republican lawmakers and a bevy of conservative groups, from law enforcement advocacy organizations to tea party advocates to the Family Research Council, rushed to the defense of the former senator.

More recently, Trump broke standard party protocol by publicly criticizing McConnell for failing to pass legislation eliminating the 2010 Obamacare law. Trump even suggested that McConnell should step down from his leadership post something the president has no control over if McConnell does not deliver the votes to pass tax reform or an infrastructure package.

The party had already fractured over its attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare. Trump offered little support or cover for both House and Senate lawmakers to take what many deemed tough votes. The effort died in the Senate due to three no votes by Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska over concerns about the secretive process during which the health care bill was written and the cuts it would make to Medicaid.

When lawmakers return from vacation in September, they will face a bevy of thorny challenges raising the nations debt ceiling, approving a budget for the federal government, and tackling tricky policies like tax reform. While its premature to assume the Republican rifts will sink any of those efforts, the insistent paper cuts for the fledgling administration could imperil them and further erode Trumps diminished political base.

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Republicans stand up to Trump over Charlottesville comments

But some Republicans spoke out against Trump, using his name directly to emphasize that they don't agree with what he said in Trump Tower.

During his news conference, Trump blamed "both sides" in the protests and equated the white supremacists on one side with the counter-protesters on the other side.

Some Republicans, to avoid more conflict, denounced racism after Trump's news conference -- and some indirectly referred to his statements when they called him out.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a strong critic of Trump, took a hard stance on Wednesday against Trump's remarks at the news conference.

"Through his statements yesterday, President Trump took a step backward by again suggesting there is moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer. I, along with many others, do not endorse this moral equivalency," Graham said in a statement.

He continued: "Many Republicans do not agree with and will fight back against the idea that the Party of Lincoln has a welcome mat out for the David Dukes of the world."

Sen. Marco Rubio, who ran against Trump in the GOP primary, tweeted in a thread, "Mr. President,you can't allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame. They support idea which cost nation & world so much pain"

Sen. Jeff Flake, a strong critic of Trump, tweeted, "We can't accept excuses for white supremacy & acts of domestic terrorism. We must condemn. Period."

Sen. Cory Gardner also used Trump's name to say he was wrong at a town hall in Colorado.

Sen. Jerry Moran also called out Trump by name, writing in a tweet: "White supremacy, bigotry & racism have absolutely no place in our society & no one - especially POTUS - should ever tolerate it"

"This is terrible. The President of the United States needs to condemn these kinds of hate groups," said Kasich, who ran against Trump in the Republican presidential primary. "The President has to totally condemn this. It's not about winning an argument."

Rep. Ed Royce tweeted, "The President needs to clearly and categorically reject white supremacists. No excuses. No ambiguity."

And Rep. Leonard Lance tweeted, "Mr. President, there is only one side: AGAINST white supremacists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semites & the KKK. They have no place in America or GOP."

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who also ran against Trump in the GOP primary, tweeted in a thread denouncing racism: "I urge @POTUS to unite the country, not parse the assignment of blame for the events in Charlottesville."

And Rep. Will Hurd told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" that Trump should "apologize ... Racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism of any form is unacceptable."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn't respond directly to Trump after his news conference but instead released a statement after news that white supremacists are planning a rally in McConnell's home state of Kentucky.

"We can have no tolerance for an ideology of racial hatred," McConnell said in a statement, without using Trump's name. "There are no good neo-Nazis, and those who espouse their views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms. We all have a responsibility to stand against hate and violence, wherever it raises its evil head."

House Speaker Paul Ryan also didn't use Trump's name directly but called the President out in opposition to what he said in the news conference.

Ryan tweeted, "We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity."

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who has been a strong critic of Trump since the 2016 election, also didn't use his name to call him out: "No, not the same. One side is racist, bigoted, Nazi. The other opposes racism and bigotry. Morally different universes."

GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen tweeted, "Blaming 'both sides' for #Charlottesville?! No. Back to relativism when dealing with KKK, Nazi sympathizers, white supremacists? Just no."

Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush released a joint statement where they denounced racism but didn't use Trump's name.

"America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms," they said in a statement. "As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city's most prominent citizen in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights. We know these truths to be everlasting because we have seen the decency and greatness of our country."

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Here are the Republicans denouncing Trump by name - CNN

Forget impeachment. Forget Robert Mueller's investigation. Forget Russia. Well, don't forget them, but put them to the side for a moment. Investigations and impeachments and Senate trials take time, and we don't have time any more. The president has to go now, and it's up to his fellow Republicans to get him to leave.

On Tuesday, the president of the United States said there were good people marching alongside the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

We can't have a president who says good people march with Nazis. We just can't. We have so much work to do on race in this country, so many people who need to understand the depth of systemic racism that pervades every aspect of society. We need dialog and understanding, but right now we're in an emergency, and this guy has to go.

It can't just be up to liberals and leftists to make this call anymore. It's not enough for Republicans like Speaker Paul Ryan to issue generic statements denouncing racism. We have a racist president. Every elected official needs to denounce him by name.

But even that doesn't go far enough. It's time, after nearly 30 weeks with him in office stomping on the Constitution and basic human decency, to demand his resignation. Every time we thought there were no more lines for him to cross, he finds a bright red one and leaps over it.

This can't be a partisan issue any more. At some point all but the most extreme Republicans have to be able to recognize a national emergency when they see one. If not now, when? If this president isn't unfit for the office after what he said Tuesday, who would be?

Will it work? Would Trump go? It's tough to predict, but never forget how sensitive Trump is to criticism. With enough pressure from the entirety of the political structure in this country, including a refusal to work with him, he might dig in but he just might give up and go back to running his real estate empire. Even someone as self-delusional as he is can only face so much pressure to resign before giving in.

Hell, Republicans, you could even come out ahead in the political calculus. Making Trump resign would be a momentary embarrassment for the party, but you'd end up with Mike Pence, a bedrock conservative who will sign your giant tax cuts for the wealthy and not call you names on Twitter.I know you're afraid of your party's primary voters, but sometimes you have to do what's right for the country rather than yourself.

It certainly isn't a difficult moral question. What Donald Trump said in his press conference Tuesday was so awful, so contrary to all notions of basic human decency, that it immediately makes him utterly unfit to be president.

Sure, he's been unfit all along stupid and cruel and corrupt and craven. But this is different, and this is worse. It's unprecedented in the history of the modern presidency. We've had presidents of both parties whose policies disproportionately hurt people of color. We've have presidents who use dog whistles and political strategies to appeal to white voters' racial resentment.

But even these presidents could speak eloquently against hate and extremism when it reared its head. None of them ever looked at a crowd of racists bearing torches, shouting, "Jews will not replace us," and declared there were good people among them.

A good person shouts back. Immediately. Trump took three days to denounce the most extreme marchers, then one day later undid what little good he had done with his reluctant remarks. He stood at a microphone and praised people who stood with neo-Nazis and the KKK.

There's no question what's right for the country. President Trump must resign as soon as possible. And he will not do so without political pressure from the people in his own party. History will look back at this moment, and it will not judge kindly the people who couldn't muster the decency to do the right thing.

Republicans, if you believe in America, if you believe in the decency of our people, then your path is clear. Tell Trump to resign. Make the call so loud and so universal he cannot ignore it.

And if he clings to power in the face of massive pressure from all sides, then you can impeach his ass.

Watch below:Whether Trump eventually will be forced out of office is as much a political question as it is a legal one.

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Republicans Must Tell Trump to Go Now - RollingStone.com